Eagle News

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Fall Forward with Our Eagles!

Hello Eagle Families!

October is here, bringing with it the coolness of fall and a renewed sense of purpose for our Morningside STEM community. As we welcome this new season, we want to reflect on our growth over the past year and set our sights on the next/upcoming steps of an intentional journey ahead. First and foremost, our commitment to building caring connections throughout our classrooms between Eagles young and old continues through our ongoing integration of Restorative Practices. This year our intentions have been strengthened through a school and district launched effort to develop Be Kind, Be Well, Be Strong Eagles supported through the Sioux City Community School District’s meaningful pilot of Character Strong SEL curriculum for the 2023-24 school year.

Character Strong Scope & Sequence.pdf

Last spring, we also introduced our Eagle Commitment to “SOARing with” through a Restorative Practices lens that strives to lead our Eagles to connect and reflect upon how our words and actions impact others. If you recall, our S.T.A.R. process has remained at the heart of this and is now found on our classroom and building walls as a reminder and guide to help us think through restoratively, remain supportive of our caring and safe community, and commit to the shared values Eagles and classrooms have strived to reach.

As we progress into this new school year, we hope to continue the momentum we've built around this process alongside you by continuing to strengthen our home-to-school Eagle team bond. Every day, our dedicated staff and eager students build a community where everyone feels welcomed and safe through daily doorway greetings, Morning Meetings, and connection circles. Our Eagles also engage in weekly connection circles to ensure all feel valued and heard across their school day. Through integrations with our Character Strong Social Emotional Curriculum, we will continue these processes that will help us collaboratively grow and nourish Be Kind, Be Well, Be Strong Eagles that experience meaningful experiences as we see how our school and home values have many shared connections.

Already with the help of quarter 1 instruction through Character Strong our young Eagles are now soaring higher—learning the meaning of being kind to one another, keeping well both mentally and physically, and showing strength in character. As they practice and hone their skills across the year in self-awareness and regulation, we are confident we will see them taking ownership of their actions embodying the principles of SOAR, learning how to prevent conflicts and harm, and even how to repair connection when harm has been felt through their S.T.A.R. process as they approach the day to day situations through a restorative way of thinking. Together, our Eagles are gaining awareness of how their actions, choices, and words impact others so that they can reflect and connect on their commitment to intentionally SOARing with others.

Eagle Families, your collaborative support in modeling and practicing these problem-solving skills at home is invaluable. When our young Eagles see this practice both at home and school, they truly internalize the lessons, becoming better-prepared individuals ready for the challenges of the world.

Let's continue this incredible partnership. By working together, we can ensure that our students not only reach, but surpass our shared SOAR values, gaining vital life skills they'll carry with them always.

To help share our progress, below you will find our visuals and guides that overview the process our Eagles have been using to gain awareness of their role to prevent harm and problem-solve conflicts with others over the past year. Thank you for helping them apply their S.T.A.R. thinking through situations at school and at home alongside you, just as they work to do here at school to build skills and become more independent across the year.

STAR Process

Our Eagle educators also remain truly committed to our past practices and processes that support our building wide staff and students through our quarterly review of district and building expectations outlined in the Student Handbook and Student Code of Conduct and how they are connected to our own shared values to SOAR with one another as Safe, On Task, Act Responsible, Respectful Eagles. Our That’s Cool, Not Cool – Universal STOP process is also still present since our launch in 2018 as students are taught to show and say “STOP—that's not cool!, walk away from the area, and seek an adult to ask for help” whenever they feel something does not quite feel right or sense potential harm. During Morning Meetings, beginning and midyear boot camps, and upcoming quarterly reviews, our students overview and practice how to use this important process telling others to STOP right away to ensure our community focuses on how to tell others we don’t like what’s going on in a safe and respectful SOAR high way!

Thats Cool Lesson Plan with STOP--Thats Not Cool Universal STOP signal.docx

Please take a look at our lesson plans, visuals, and our classroom review alongside our S.T.A.R. process as it relates to Eagle behavior expectations.

Together, we will ensure our Eagles continue to “SOAR with” one another through SOAR high thinking and actions.

Warmest wishes with the start to a beautiful fall harvest time together,

Kim Krotz – Principal, Morningside STEM Elementary School

Hello,

First and foremost, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Deion Clayborne and I am the new assistant principal here at Morningside STEM Elementary. I was born and raised here in Sioux City where I attended Bryant Elementary School, North Middle School, and finally North High School. I continued my education at Morningside University for my undergraduate degree and eventually Wayne State College for my master’s degree. This is my 4th year in the Sioux City Community Schools. I have served as an ESL Teacher and Behavior Specialist prior to being hired into this new position.

I value relationships with students, families, and staff. I am honored to join and work with such great students, families, and staff. Please feel free to reach out to me via email, phone call, or stop in and meet face to face. My door is always open.

I just wanted to remind everyone of a couple items regarding morning drop-off.

• When dropping students off in the drive through lane, it is important that drivers stay in their cars. The reason for this is due to the drive through lane being a fire lane as well.
• If you would like to enter the building, we ask that you park your car in the parking lot and then come in. All guests should check-in at the office for a pass from our Raptor Security System (a Driver’s License is scanned and required to get a pass).
• Arrival time for breakfast is 8:00 a.m. Student safety is our biggest concern and staff monitoring does not start until 8:25 a.m. If students are not eating breakfast, we ask that students be dropped off after 8:25.
• We love connecting with families during drop-off and at breakfast. We are asking that families and guests wish their Eagles a SOARing day and allow our students to head to class independently. At breakfast time all visitors must remain in the commons. Guests must have a Raptor pass from the office if there is a communicated need to go to the classroom as connection and learning time begins at 8:40 daily.

I hope everyone has a great year and I am excited to get started. Thank you for all you do!

-Deion Clayborne

Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences will be Monday, October 23 from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Tuesday, October 24 from 3:40 to 6:20 p.m

As a parent what do I do? If you have only one child to sign up for a conference, please use these instructions.

• Go to the internet and type in www.myconferencetime.com/morningside
• You should see the teachers from Morningside Elementary listed.
• If you have only one child, click on the name of your child’s teacher.
• After you click on the teacher’s name, the schedules appear. Choose an open slot, click the red “Sign Up”
• Fill in your child’s first and last name, your first and last name, and a valid email address
• At the bottom click “Sign Up for Your Conference”

As a parent what do I do? If you have more than one child to sign up for conferences, please use these instructions:

• Go to the internet and type in www.myconferencetime.com/morningside
• You should see the teachers from Morningside listed.
• If you are registering more than one child, at the top of the screen is a yellow box that says, “Register for Multiple Conferences”. Click here.
• In the drop down, choose how many children you need conference times for Click Continue.
• Fill in the information needed for other students needing a conference.
• Select all teachers your children have, click “Find Schedules with Common Dates” at the bottom
• Choose which day you wish to have a conference. The teachers’ schedules appear side by side. The teacher’s name is at the top of the column. Please make sure you put the correct child with the correct teacher. The names of your children appear next to a check box for each available time slot. Choose the time for each student by clicking the box next to their name in the time you wish to reserve
• You are done! If all information is correct, you should receive a reminder email confirmation.

If you are unable to meet with teachers for an in-person conference, please write in the “notes” that you would prefer a phone conference.

With the cooler temperatures upon us, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the colder winter. Even during the winter season, the District allows recess and outdoor activities to continue as usual, so it is important that students have the right winter weather clothing. When the temperature feels like 15 degrees or lower, students are kept inside for recess and activities. Students should be prepared for the cooler weather with a warm coat, hat, scarf, and gloves. If your student does not have access to cold weather apparel, please contact our school office.

Yvon Fitch, Attendance specialist

October 5 3rd grade Fire Safety House

October 8-14 Fire Prevention Week

October 10 Kindergarten - 2nd grade fire engine here

October 12 Fundraiser Pickup

October 25 End of 1st quarter

October 31 Halloween Parties

K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th 2:45-3:15

4th grade 1:45-2:15

November 3 Picture Retakes

Fall Conferences – No School Days

Parent/teacher conferences will be held on Monday, October 23 and Tuesday, October 24. There will be no school for students on Monday, October 23 and Friday, October 27.

Thank you for partnering with us in your child's education.

The Book Fair is Coming to Morningside!

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held at Morningside STEM Elementary during Fall Conferences. The book fair will be set up the weekend prior to conferences and teachers and parents may purchase from the fair during the conferences on October 23rd and 24th. Students will receive preview information the week prior. Please check out our school’s book fair website https://www.scholastic.com/bf/morningsidestem As we get closer to the book fair more info with specific hours and activities will be updated on the site as well as our other school social media. At the time of the fair, you can also use the book fair website to purchase books online if you cannot attend the book fair in person. Money earned from our book fair goes to fund more books in our library for reader use as well as library activities for students! We hope to see you during conference time!

Counseling Connection: From Ms. Mendenhall

I have visited most of the K-5 classrooms the past month, our focus was on Kindness. During the month of October our focus will be on Empathy. Empathy is 1 way to show Kindness. Ask your student how they show empathy. October our Eagles will be participating in Red Ribbon Week which is the last week in October. The Red Ribbon Theme this year is: Be Kind to your Mind-Live Drug Free.

Boosting your Child’s Confidence

Children’s early years are essential to their cognitive and emotional development. As a parent, it’s your job to guide your children down a path where they’ll feel not only motivated to participate in activities and school but also with enough confidence to help them succeed. Boosting your child’s confidence works best when you maintain an overall context of encouragement and excitement about their activities

.

Remember: Be open to communication and ask your children what they would like to do.

Sharing their favorite part of the school day...

Bohde- playing outside

Jasmine- playing outside

Zedrick-recess

Itzayana- coloring and playing

Lauraphina- playing outside

Kami- playing outside

Ava- playing outside

Tymberli- playing with play-doh

Aidana- coloring

Beau- playing with toys

Emilee- writing and drawing

Emilia- board math

Angel- playing

Carlos- lunch

Baylee- lunch

Claire- recess

Amira- recess

Ramon- playing outside

Max- sitting down and reading books

Elementary Mental Health

Everyone feels sad, mad or worried sometimes. While it may be hard to let others know how you are feeling, you may show it in how you think, feel, or act. You may

• Eat less or more
• Argue more
• Cry easily
• Feel bored with things you like
• Have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep
• Want to be alone a lot
• Act before thinking
• Have less energy
• Feel nervous/stressed

When you feel this way, you may want to do something to help you feel better, such as

• Write a story
• Play outside
• Do a puzzle
• Smile or laugh
• Ride a bike
• Draw or pain

If this does not help, talk with a parent or grown up! They should be able to help.

https://www.gizmo4mentalhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/GizmoPawesome.pdf

Jesica Hamm, Morningside School Nurse

We are doing “A Little Spot of Emotions” . This wee we are talking about Confidence, The Orange Spot. We discussed confidence and I asked the students what made them feel confident.

Mila-Knowing I am loved.

Emma-I am strong.

Dravyn-I can do anything.

Victoria-I am loved.

Ada-My Mom loves me.

Bennet-When you tell me to try my best, and its ok to make a mistake.

Xander-I am loved.

Zarie-I am loved.

Alexander-I can do anything.

Celeste-I am loved.

Mason-I have friends.

Serenity-My daddy loves me.

Emily-I am loved.

Bella-When I do something hard and finish.

Tiana-My mommy loves me.

Norah-My mommy loves me.

Ava-My mommy loves me.

Miss Meacham’s 5th Grade

We have been partying a lot to start the school year! Our class has earned 5 Eagle Parties already, with a total of 588 earned Eagle Tickets! We are so excited to model how to SOAR for our fellow Eagles here at Morningside Elementary!

When we haven’t been partying, we have been working hard in math on multi-digit multiplication strategies, and now we are on to division strategies! In writing, we are practicing writing Personal Narrative stories, or stories that tell about something we experienced over a small moment of time.

During reading, we focus a lot on inferencing and being able to tell the meanings of words and phrases by using context clues. Social Studies has been very exciting….did you know that there is a mystery that is over 400 years old about a lost colony? Ask your student about the lost colony! In Science, we have been learning about the Sun, the Moon, planet Earth, and stars!

We are really enjoying being 5th Graders so far! We are learning so much that we will take with us into middle school next year! Thank you for taking the time to read about Miss Meacham’s 5th Grade Class!

We love Morningside Elementary School!

Volunteers are needed to join the District’s Grassroots Advocacy Committee. As a volunteer, you will receive email updates about important legislative events that could impact public education and be asked to contact local and state leaders to advocate for our schools. Volunteer today and let your voice be heard! Contact Communications@live.siouxcityschools.com to volunteer.

Looking for a part-time or full-time career with flexibility? Instructional assistants, bus drivers, and food service staff are needed to join our amazing team! Check out the District’s openings today!

Principal: Kim Krotz

Email: CommMOR@live.siouxcityschools.com
Website: https://morningside.siouxcityschools.org/o/morningside?_gl=1%2a1k08lgs%2a_ga%2aMTU5Mjg0OTU1NC4xNjY3NDE0NzE3%2a_ga_2X0VVCZ7XJ%2aMTY5NDExMDUzMi40OTguMS4xNjk0MTEwNTg2LjAuMC4w
Location: 3601 Bushnell Avenue, Sioux City, IA, USA
Phone: 712-274-4048
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MorningsideElementarySchoolSCCSD/
Twitter: @MsideSCCSD

The Sioux City Community School District offers career and technical programs in the following areas: Business & Marketing, Family & Consumer Science, Health Science, and Industrial Arts, Technology, & PLTW.

The Sioux City Community School District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information (for employment), national origin, religion, age (for employment), disability, socioeconomic status (for programs), marital status (for programs), or veteran status (for employment) in its educational programs and its employment practices. The District is required by Title IX and 34 CFR Part 106 not to discriminate on the basis of sex in its programs, activities, or employment.

Inquiries or grievances under Section 504 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act may be directed to Dr. Dora Jung, Director of Student Services & Equity Education/Title IX Coordinator at 627 4th Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, (712) 279-6075, jungd@live.siouxcityschools.com. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and its regulations to the District may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, or both. Please see District Board policies 103 and 504.4 for additional information on available grievance procedures.